December 26, 2018
Eight strangers are summoned to a remote island, overseen by a newly hired servant couple. While waiting for their host to appear, a recording recounts how all ten people are guilty of murder. Over the next few days, the ten start being killed off one by one. Since they’re alone on the island, one of them must be the killer. Probably the best depiction of this Agatha Christie classic, which has been remade several times.
Director: René Clair
Cast: Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward
IMDb: 7.6
Where: Amazon Prime, iTunes, Amazon On Demand
An amiable man is arrested for the murder of a wealthy woman. A famous lawyer (Charles Laughton) decides to defend him. The man’s only hope is an allibi from his wife, but she chooses instead to testify against him. Another Agatha Christie classic with several twists and turns, and one heck of an ending.
Director: Billy Wilder
Cast: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester
IMDb: 8.4
Where: iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
An unemployed writer is invited by his childhood friend to post–World War II Vienna. Upon arriving, he learns that his friend is dead. He decides to investigate his friend’s death, and learns of a mysterious “third man” who was present. A post-war thriller and film noir classic with the two stars of Citizen Kane.
Director: Carol Reed
Cast: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard
IMDb: 8.2
Where: Netflix, iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
An everyman London civilian gets caught up in preventing a spy organization from stealing British military secrets. After being wrongfully accused of murder, he must go on the lam while trying to stop the spies and clear his name. An espionage thriller that helped define film noir. Early Hitchcock.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim
IMDb: 7.8
Where: Amazon Prime, iTunes, Amazon On Demand
A principled Southern lawyer decides to defend a black man wrongfully accused of the rape of a white woman. In the process, he teaches his two children about the evils of racism and stereotyping. Probably Gregory Peck’s best movie. An American classic.
Director: Robert Mulligan
Cast: Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford
IMDb: 8.3
Where: Netflix, iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu
The Little Tramp is employed at factory full of the latest machinery, by which he is overwhelmed. He meets and falls for an orphaned girl. Together they attempt to navigate society with its modern industrialization. Maybe the best Charlie Chaplin movie, and his last role as the Little Tramp. Poignant and incredibly creative. For another classic comedy, see Buster Keaton in The General (1926).
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman
IMDb: 8.5
Where: Amazon On Demand
A domineering British widower and shoe store owner hires a humble servant. One of the widower’s three daughters decides to marry the servant, and a showdown begins, including her starting her own shoe store. A dramatic comedy that won the British Academy Film Award for Best British Film.
Director: David Lean
Cast: Charles Laughton, John Mills, Brenda de Banzie
IMDb: 7.7
Where: Blu-ray, DVD
Another classic directed by David Lean and starring John Mills, in the popular story by Charles Dickens. Considered one of the greatest British films of all time. Pip, an orphan, discovers he has a mysterious benefactor who paves the way for Pip to become a gentleman. Along the way, Pip learns lessons about life and love.
Director: David Lean
Cast: John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Tony Wager
IMDb: 8.0
Where: Amazon On Demand
Was the inspiration for the American western hit The Magnificent Seven, and probably also High Plains Drifter. A desperate village hires a group of seven samurai soldiers to protect them from marauding bandits. Has a deservedly high IMDb rating.
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
IMDb: 8.7
Where: iTunes, Amazon On Demand, Vudu